Crystal Palace should plot an audacious swoop for this 22-year-old versatile Manchester City ace in an attempt to shore up their overall options

Crystal Palace should raid Man City to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko

It has been a season filled with ups and down for Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace. The Eagles have had very little to cheer about in what has turned out to be yet another campaign of mid-table obscurity.

Palace currently sit 13th in the Premier League standings with 27 points, level on points with Brighton and Burnley and just three points clear of the relegation zone. While they might breathe a sigh of relief for not being further down the table, the Eagles need to put an end to their fight for relegation season after season.

Despite his age, Roy Hodgson has been a fantastic manager for Palace and he showed a tremendous bit of acumen to snap up Max Meyer as a free-agent in the summer. The German came to Selhurst Park with a lot of reputation and promise but he has found it tough to acclimatise to the Premier League and has failed to establish himself as a regular face in the first team.

The long-term injury to centre-forward Christian Benteke left Palace with a massive void to fill up front. Although Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend have done reasonably well, the Eagles have suffered from lack of creativity in the midfield, with Meyer failing to deliver the goods consistently. James MacArthur, Cheikhou Kouyate and Luka Milivojevic have been pretty solid in dictating the tempo and cutting out the attacks but they cannot be termed as creative midfielders who can light up the scene with something special.

Palace did well to bolster their squad with the loan signing of Michy Batshuayi from Chelsea in January but they need to strengthen even further next summer to enhance their chances of a top-ten finish. To be more precise, they need another lively and versatile creative midfielder in their ranks.

To put things into perspective, Palace should make a move for Man City star Oleksandr Zinchenko ahead of the upcoming season. The 22-year-old Ukrainian international has played a bit-part role in the first-team at Etihad due to the stiff competition for places and the Eagles should make him a top priority next summer in a bid to add depth and quality to their squad.

Even though he was signed from Russian club Ufa back in the summer of 2016 primarily as an attacking midfielder, Zinchenko has thrived at City as a makeshift left-back in the absence of Benjamin Mendy and Fabian Delph. He made 14 appearances in his breakout season last term and has registered an equal number of appearances so far this season as well.

Zinchenko is a technically-gifted and tactically-versatile player who is capable of playing as a left-back, wing-back, central midfielder and also in the attacking third as a winger or a No.10. Calm and comfortable in possession, the 22-year-old has a nice skill set to go along with his crisp passing, vision, delicious first-touch and ability to create spaces for his teammates to exploit. Add to that his defensive work rate and he can be a really valuable asset to any team in the Premier League.

Zinchenko has got his chances at City from time to time. Not many youngsters have been able to break into the first-team consistently but Zinchenko, with his versatility, has managed to get a fair crack of the whip. While he can certainly continue his development at City, a move to Selhurst Park might help him realise his true potential with more regular minutes.

The same report claims that Diame is facing an uncertain future at Tyneside, with his contract set to expire in the summer. They want to trigger a 12-month extension but Diame wants his long-term future secured and might as well head for the exit door to look for other options.

Diame arrived at Newcastle from Hull City in 2016 for a fee of £3.5 million and has made a total of 99 appearances for the Magpies in all competitions.

The former West Ham and Hull City man has started 22 games for Newcastle in the Premier League this season but he has failed to regain his place in the first team since the turn of the year following his absence due to injury, with the in-form duo of Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff keeping the Senegalese ace on the bench.

The former West Ham and Hull City man has started 22 games for Newcastle in the Premier League this season but he has failed to regain his place in the first team since the turn of the year following his absence due to injury, with the in-form duo of Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff keeping the Senegalese ace on the bench.

Talking about Crystal Palace’s links with the Diame, he is not the sort of player who has the ability to light up the stadium with moments of brilliance, but he is more a hardworking central midfielder who chips in with a decent 6/10 performance every week.

The news won’t really excite the fans too much simply because the Eagles already have plenty of established options in central midfield and someone like Diame is unlikely to add anything extra to what they already have.

Roy Hodgson’s side have struggled for creativity in the midfield and lack of firepower up front, with summer signing Max Meyer failing to adapt to the Premier League and Christian Benteke spending large quarters of the season on the sidelines.

Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend have worked tirelessly in the final third while much of the creativity has been provided by James McArthur. Luka Milivojevic and Cheikhou Kouyate have formed a formidable partnership at the heart of the midfield, with the duo keeping things ticking and complementing each other really well.

Diame is a tough-tackling all-action central midfielder with loads of Premier League experience but the veteran is reaching the final phase of his career at 31. Moreover, Hodgson would find it difficult to accommodate the former Senegalese international in his first-team plans, with Milivojevic, Kouyate and McArthur firing on all cylinders.

He could still add more depth to their squad but Palace would be better off investing in some young creative midfielders to add that X-factor to their ranks.

Palace need to add at least another attacking midfielder and a prolific striker to their ranks to challenge for a top-ten finish in the Premier League next term. Signing Diame would only increase their wage bills and, that said, the Eagles should avoid making a move for the veteran.

However, a move to the Premier League failed to materialize for Ekambi and the 26-year-old completed a move to Villarreal last summer after finishing the 2017-18 season with 17 goals and 6 assists for Angers in the Ligue 1.

Ekambi has not hit top gear since his move to the La Liga, however, 6 goals from 16 starts cannot be considered as poor returns from a man who is playing his first season in the Spanish top flight. He has made amends in the Europa League, though, scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists from 7 appearances.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have once again endured a tumultuous campaign in the Premier League and the Eagles find themselves marooned 14th in the standings, five points clear of the drop zone.

Roy Hodgson’s side may have steered themselves to safety in the Premier League this time around but they have plenty to think about heading into the next season.

Palace have been hit hard by their lack of creativity in the midfield and lack of firepower up front, with the Eagles managing to score just 36 goals from 30 games in the Premier League.

Christian Benteke has struggled for form and fitness for two successive seasons now, leaving the likes of Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend to shoulder the bulk of the attacking workload up front. Connor Wickham hasn’t done an awful lot either, while Jordan Ayew is set to return to his parent club Swansea City at the end of the season.

To put things into perspective, the Eagles should reignite their interest in Karl Toko Ekambi and make a move for him in the summer to bolster their attacking options.

Ekambi is a fast and agile striker with a good eye for goal and he has all the attributes to help Palace hit greater heights in the Premier League next term.

Blessed with lightning pace, the Cameroonian uses his directness, athleticism and dribbling skills to surge forward with pace and beat the opposition defenders.

He excels with his ability to make quick and subtle runs behind the backline, whilst his past as a left-winger means that he has got good vision and tactical intelligence to create chances for his teammates.

He links up with his teammates well, looks to wreak havoc with his pace during counter-attacks and has a penchant for scoring goals from outside the box.

Enough is enough – It’s time for this 21-year-old Chelsea starlet to move to any of these 3 PL clubs instead

Chelsea Opinion: 3 potential suitors for prolific Tammy Abraham

Chelseaare one of England’s biggest clubs and their infrastructure is equally big. This means that they have an extremely reputed youth academy which produces some of the most budding talents in world football.

One such player is Tammy Abraham, who currently plies his trade for Aston Villa in the Championship. In fact, he is having a prosperous goalscoring season. From his 30 league appearances this campaign, he has scored 21 goals and is the club’s top scorer.

He has spent loan spells at Bristol City and Swansea City and has even featured for the Blues having made 3 appearances. His time as Aston Villa has really improved him as a player and his market value is currently skyrocketing as well.

Having had such a brilliant season in England’s 2nd division, the inevitability of clubs approaching the Blues for the youngster’s signature at the end of the season could tempt Chelsea into taking drastic measures. Until then, his future remains a mystery.

Here are the three clubs that should look to secure the signing of this talented Englishman:

Leicester City

Tammy Abraham has all the qualities to be a custom-made alternative to Jamie Vardy in the Leicester line-up under the new managership of former Liverpool man Brendan Rodgers. His work-rate off the ball and blistering pace liken him to the veteran striker and he would be a good option for the Foxes.

His height and ability to get in behind using long strides and intelligent movement make him an excellent prospect for the English game while his predatory instincts in the box will suit Leicester’s style of play.

Crystal Palace

Roy Hodgson’s men have lacked the presence of a prolific goalscorer all season with Connor Wickham, Jordan Ayew and Christian Benteke all misfiring. The constant use of Wilfried Zaha up-front signifies the Eagles’ need for a recognised centre-forward.

Tammy has the perfect skill-set to slot into Hodgson’s setup and can immediately form a relationship with Zaha and Andros Townsend to work magic for the Eagles. His movement and pace will help bring the talented Palace midfield into the game a lot more and he can be the answer to the goalscoring troubles.

Newcastle United

With Salomon Rondon set to depart back to his parent club West Bromwich Albion at the end of the season, the Magpies should look the bring in the talismanic Englishman to put an end to their woes in front of goal.

With the recent acquisition of Paraguayan forward Miguel Almiron, the addition of a potent goalscoring threat like Tammy could be the boost that Rafa Benitez needs to attain his Premier League ambitions.